grainfree

I’ve teamed up with my friends over at California Strawberries again to bring you a healthier take on a classic ice cream float. Instead of traditional soda and Ice Cream, I made my own strawberry soda by adding a simple homemade strawberry syrup made with fresh California Strawberries and unrefined sugar! I then topped it with mineral water and dairy free vanilla Ice Cream. You can choose to keep the strawberry syrup kind of chunky so you get yummy bits as you scoop them up with your Ice Cream or puree it so it’s easier to drink through a straw, I’ll leave that one up to you!

As you probably already know, we adore California Strawberries around here! If you’re looking for another healthy snack involving these cute blushing berries, check out my Strawberry Ceviche Avocado Boats I created with them last year. It’s a good one folks, I can’t believe I’m using “folks” now in my vocab lol! My dad, a fellow entreprenuer, uses that in his TV and radio ads, haha! I guess it’s true that you become more and more like your parents the older you get, time to down more of these floats to bring me back to my childhood again ;)

I love that this recipe is healthier, paleo and vegan friendly, easy to prepare and tastes great too! Did you know that strawberries are low in sugar, score, with just 50 calories per one cup serving? And they are packed with beneficial antioxidants and vitamin c, so I try to get in my serving of 8 strawberries a day. Plus, strawberries just scream summertime and are the perfect snack, you’ll want to make this float all summer long! Pinky promise with ice cream and a strawberry on top!

In a medium saucepan bring strawberries, honey/maple syrup and water to a boil over medium heat. Mash strawberries as they cook to break them down & release more juices. Once boiling reduce to medium-low heat and cook for an additional 8 mins. Remove from heat and let cool. Add to a bowl, cover and refrigerate for a few hours.

Divide strawberry syrup mixture between 2 tall glasses. Pour in equal amounts of sparkling water and stir to combine. Top each with a scoop of dairy free vanilla ice cream, serve immediately with a straw & spoon.

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post on behalf of The California Strawberry Commission. Thank you for supporting the companies that make Paleo Paparazzi possible! I only work with companies I’m passionate about & align with the mission of Paleo Paparazzi. As always, all thoughts are 100% my own.

One of my favorite long weekends of the year is finally here and I wanted to make it a special one! Memorial day is the perfect time to bust out the grill and impress your loved ones with a delicious meal! Last year I made it special by serving my Easy Chicken Pesto Kebabs and honoring the memory of an incredible individual.

Most of the time I use veggies in place of buns when barbecuing, but on special occasions I like to bust out a grain free bun that reminds me of me of my gluten loving childhood. There’s something so nostalgic about a seedy carby bun topped with a juicy burger, slippery sauces and all the trimmings!

This bun recipe is one I have been serving for awhile now, but just haven’t shared yet. My nieces who eat a modified paleo diet request them for birthday parties and really enjoy them, I wanted to pass on the goodness so you can enjoy them with your family too! Not only are they grain and gluten free, but nut free as well. A lot of paleo bread recipes contain nut flours but this one uses cassava flour making it a nut free alternative for my friends out there who can’t have them!

I’m having a love affair with fries this month, first it was all about the Carnitas Street Fries and now these Baked Zucchini Fries are having a moment in my kitchen. I can’t say I’m mad about it though, healthier fries still taste amazing. Plus they take any meal from ordinary to somethin to talk about at the next neighborhood bbq :)

The best way to keep them crispy is to give them enough space on the pan. If you crowd them too much they will just steam and you won’t achieve that crispy exterior everyone loves. Slimy limp fries are just sad and no one wants that! I like to cut mine fairly thin so they cook up faster about 1/4” thick.

Baked zucchini fries were one of the very first recipes I made when I started eating Paleo. One bite and Matt and I were instantly in love! I remember thinking, if I can eat this on a Paleo diet, count me in! Have you had zucchini fries? And if you have, have you dipped them in a garlic basil aioli? Sweet serendipity they’re GOOD!

You can use my homemade easy mayo to make the aioli or a paleo/Whole30 friendly one you like to speed up the process. Just be prepared because when you add in the basil and garlic, magic will happen! Dunk your crispy fries into them and you will want to give me a big ol hug, or you can just email me to thank me lol!

Easy peasy guacamole for any day of the week! Because what is life without Guacamole?! As a native Californian if you don’t know how to make guacamole, people give you the stink eye, lol! This is such a great dip for grain free chips or veggies. I love to add to my Jicama Street Tacos or top on my Carnitas Fries for some extra goodness! This recipe is paleo and Whole30 Friendly too!

You basically just add the magical mixture of some pretty simple to find items and you will be in guacamole heaven! It’s easy peasy limey squeezy!

Fellow foodie meet your new bestie, Whole30 Chicken Salad BLT Avocado Cups! The easiest, most tasty, healthy meal evahhh!! Use a ready made compliant rotisserie chicken from your supermarket and all your wildest dreams will come true (name that movie) I know, I know, cheesy but kind of true! If you’ve ever done a Whole30 you know that easy meals can really save your life! And this one is waving at you, it’s destiny!

I also used Primal Kitchen Mayo to make this even more of a breeze, but you can always use my Easy Whole30 Mayo too! This one is great for those who want something uber delicious but also simple to assemble for any meal of the day! Pre-cook the bacon ahead of time in the oven and you will thank me! Oven bacon is the bees knees, trust mean this one! I added in roasted pistachios which aren’t traditionally in a BLT but they add a great crunch factor and just up the flavor profile, making your taste buds happy campers!

I had fun creating this recipe with my favorite peeps over at Vitacost . They always help make my life a walk in the park by carrying all of my favorite Paleo and Whole30 friendly ingredients to keep my kitchen stocked! They carry tons of organic, gluten-free, dairy-free and non-GMO products, hallelujah! I’m so glad I found them!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post on behalf of Vitacost. Thank you for supporting the companies that make Paleo Paparazzi possible! I only work with companies I’m passionate about & align with the mission of Paleo Paparazzi. As always, all thoughts are 100% my own.

We’re about 2 weeks away from the official start of summer, but it’s 90 degrees here in the Sacramento Valley so summer has pretty much arrived! We’re basically swimming in strawberries at our house because, well, what’s not to love about strawberries?! I don’t think I’ve ever met a person who doesn’t adore them! You can make just about anything with them from sweet (like my Strawberry Balsamic Coconut Cream Popsicles & Chocolate Strawberry Hearts) to savory dishes, they never let you down, amiright?! These Strawberry Ceviche Avocado Boats are on the savory side because all I can think about in this heat is fresh juicy strawberries, avocado and seafood! It was only natural to combine them into a fun and fresh new recipe, one that will take you away to Cabo with the first bite.

I always feel like it’s summer as soon as these beautiful ruby red berries start popping up here in Northern California. California Strawberries have my heart, I remember as a kid, we used to grow them in our back yard and I always hated when the snails got ahold of them, like seriously the worst thing to discover as a strawberry loving child, all your strawberries eaten by these little pests! Luckily my grandparents lived just down the street with raised planters full of strawberries, so we never went without. My grandma always made gobs of jam during the summer, some of my fondest memories are making fruit jams in the kitchen with her. As kids my cousins and I used to slather her strawberry jam all over homemade bread and devour it all summer long! My face was always sticky with strawberry jam at grandma’s house, it was a special time and place!

Sadly I don’t have any strawberry plants right in my own backyard anymore, but I really don’t have to worry because they are available year round! California produces 90% of the nations strawberries, so cool right? I love that I can find my beloved Organic California Strawberries at the farmer’s markets and grocery stores for just a few bucks during the peak season! It’s better than Christmas in my opinion! I picked up a big flat of them at the market to create these dreamy Strawberry Ceviche Avocado Boats. They’re a perfect no cook recipe to add to your list so you don’t have to turn on the oven and heat up the house when it’s unbearable outside!

You may not have thought that strawberries could work in a recipe like this, but I assure you that strawberries make a great substitute for tomatoes. Like tomatoes they are high in acidity and are sweet, but not too sweet! What’s great is that there is an abundance of ripe strawberries right now so they are a wonderful addition to many savory dishes instead of tomatoes.

Here are some reasons (as if you already needed them) to be loving more on these beautiful little berries!

-They are rich in Vitamin C! One serving of 8 Strawberries will give you more than an orange!

-They are lower in sugar compared to other fruits but packed full of flavor!

-These cute little berries are red to remind you they are packed full of nutrients that may help reduce the risk of high blood pressure and stroke. This is an important one to my family as my husband is a stroke survivor!

Cut your avocados in half and remove the pit. Squeeze lime juice on top, sprinkle salt on them, place on a serving dish and set aside.

Chop shrimp into bite sized pieces. In a medium shallow container add the shrimp, lime juice, strawberries, onions, cilantro and jalapeño. Let marinate until the shrimp is no longer see-through but opaque, about 10 to 20 minutes.

After shrimp has marinated, add salt and pepper to taste and mix the ceviche well.

Add the ceviche to the center of each avocado boat. Garnish with more cilantro, strawberries and red pepper flakes if desired. Serve chilled.

I hope you love the recipe, and don’t for get to get your 8 a day! For more delicious strawberry recipes and inspiration visit the California Strawberries Website!

Disclaimer: This is a sponsored post on behalf of The California Strawberry Commission. Thank you for supporting the companies that make Paleo Paparazzi possible! I only work with companies I’m passionate about & align with the mission of Paleo Paparazzi. As always, all thoughts are 100% my own.

These quick crispy roasted sweet potatoes are honestly one of our go-to recipes for breakfast, lunch or dinner! You can never have enough crispy sweet potatoes in the house, at least ours! What I love about this recipe is that it is super fast to whip up and oh so satisfying. Like I could lock myself in the closet and eat the whole pan by myself, oops!

The key to making these crispy is to make them really small and cook them at a really high temperature in the oven. Just keep an eye on them because we want them crispy but not burned to smithereens! That would just be a crying shame!

We love to eat these with eggs and bacon for breakfast, but they are also pretty tasty on top of a salad for lunch in place of croutons or as a side for dinner with some roasted chicken, yum! You really can do so many things with this recipe, there are infinite possibilities!

To make this recipe even easier, cut the chunks ahead of time and store in the fridge so they are ready to go when you need them! Just store them in a covered container and you are good to go at the drop of a hat. You could cook them up ahead of time and refrigerate, but they won’t be as crispy the next day. You would have to pop them back in the oven and try to crisp up once again.

If you’re a sweet potato lover and hoarder, like me, you will want to make this recipe over and over and over again. I hope you love these crispy taters as much as we do! Happy roasting!

Last week I had the opportunity to attend a fun blogger’s retreat in gorgeous Monterey, California. We toured an incredible strawberry farm and ate the most delicious food all made with, you guessed it, strawberries. I cannot wait to share with you what I learned! Stay tuned for that post soon!

While I was there, I was able to reflect on why I eat the way I do, and the healing that has come from years of eating real foods that make my body feel so good. I started my paleo journey with a Whole30, that soon turned into a love of making and eating food the way it was intended to be eaten, preservative & chemical free.

The whole30 really changed my life and I will forever be grateful for that gift. That is why I just adore creating whole30 recipes. They are simple yet so flavorful and they give me the energy I need to get through the day without crashing.

I have gotten so many compliments on this recipe. While I don’t have kids, many moms tell me that their kids LOVE them, and that makes my heart sing! They’re the perfect finger food and once you pop, you can’t stop (I had to) They’re seriously the funnest thing ever to eat!! They make me feel like a kid all over again, and I love that so, so much!

I think the great thing about them, is that everything is packed into one delicious bite, the protein, fat & veggies! That way you don’t have to worry about you or you little ones eating everything on the plate, because you get it all in each bite you take! How awesome is that?! Finger lickin, chicken good!!

I’m so excited to finally have this recipe on the blog!! It’s one of the many recipes that I have shared on my Instagram, my Facebook page as well as the Whole30 recipes social media pages. I am slowly getting all my Whole30 recipes on here so you can find them easier and also pin them from here to Pinterest. I hope you enjoy this recipe as much as my little family does…the cat even likes them ;) Total score!

Add a bit of olive oil to a pan and sauté minced garlic until fragrant. Set aside.

Grate zucchini and carrots in a food processor and set aside.

Wash chicken and pat dry.

Put chicken thighs, grated zucchini, grated carrots, green onion, dill, sautéed garlic, cumin, Coconut aminos and salt-and-pepper into your blender/food processor and grind up together for a few minutes until all ingredients are Incorporated.

Scoop a heaping tablespoon of your meat mixture onto your greased baking sheet and use hands to flatten and mold a bit.

Brush tops of chicken poppers with oil.

Bake at 400° for approximately 25 minutes, or until they are cooked through.

You can broil for an additional 3 mins. If you want them to brown up a bit more.

Serve with a side of guacamole, salsa or an aioli sauce. I like mine with a garlic dill aioli.

You guys, you guyyyyssss!! This is seriously one of my favorite cookie recipes of all time. It’s so perfect for “THE most wonderful time of the year”. It has all the yummy nummy warming spices and it tastes amazing with a hot cup o’ cider or cocoa. I created this recipe last year around the same time and posted the recipe to Instagram but not to my blog. It was rather frustrating because every time i wanted to make the recipe, I had to scroll through my feed to find it. I like having it here living on my blog so that I can easily refer to it whenever I want ;)

This recipe really reminds me of my grandfather. For those of you that don’t know, my grandfather and father owned bakeries up and down the California coast. Baking runs in my blood, but even though I don’t bake exactly like I used to or eat cookies all the time (like I used to) it’s nice to know I can have an occasional treat that brings back many fond memories. Homemade cookies always bring back memories, it was one of the things he always had in surplus inside cookie jars strewn throughout the kitchen. Especially this time of year, we ALWAYS had a cookie (or 3) in our hand!

My grandfather passed away 7 years ago on the same day my husband suffered a stroke, a story I will leave for another time. But, shortly after he passed we moved into his home, and we haven’t left. I still feel him here, watching over us, it’s a comforting feeling. I feel like he’s still teaching me. Whenever I have an ah ha moment with paleo baking, I feel like he has something to do with it ;) I used to bake in the same kitchen along side my grandfather and I have many many good food memories in this kitchen. Every time I make these cookies I feel as if he is standing behind me, proud to know that in some way I am carrying on the family tradition of baking and sharing recipes. He was always sharing recipes with others.

These cookies really taste like the real deal, you almost forget that they are paleo friendly. So i’m sharing this recipe with you, in hopes that it brings back some fond memories for you too. Memories of when life was a little more carefree. When you could have a cookie and just celebrate without worrying about what’s in it. Happy holidays to you and yours!

Hey hey friends! I’ve missed you! I hope you’re enjoying Labor Day with your loved ones! I’ve got something VERY special to share with you! Remember that yummy chili I’ve been teasing you with on my social media accounts? Well I’m happy to say that today is the day i’m spilling all my chili secrets, woohoo! It’s perfect for Labor day weekend because it can be added to your BBQ’d hot dogs for an amazingly delicious dog! This chili is a slow cooker chili which I love because it’s a no fuss recipe, and I mean who doesn’t like that??

I used to LOVE chili growing up and would order chili cheese nachos with the fake franken food cheese almost daily in high school. All I can say is yikes! I’m glad those days are LONG gone! This recipe was actually created for the Paleo Kitchen Throw Down at Whole Foods a few weekends ago. I used it for the Chili Cheeze Hot Dog I created for the competition. I got a LOT of compliments on this chili. Some cute ladies even asked me what brand of chili I used from Whole Foods, and when I told them it was homemade they said “It’s SO good! You should bottle it, I would buy that chili!!” Of course I blushed, you would too! ;)

So what are you waiting for?? Grab your crock pot and get crackin!!If you want to enjoy the chili cheeze dog just add the chili to a sliced open grass-fed hot dog, add my red pepper almond cheeze sauce And top with some kraut! Delicious by itself or on a dog!

It’s the BEST, you’ll want to put it on EVERYTHING! We keep finding new ways to enjoy it, like on top of hasselback avocados with dairy free “sour cream” and on top of hash browns with a drippy egg!